HOME Secretary Theresa May stunned officers yesterday by pulling public funding from the Police Federation.

She warned the police’s “union” at its conference that it must carry out major reforms or face abolition.

Tough-talking Mrs May accused the Federation of having “contempt for the public” before threatening to take action unless it showed it had “got it”.

Her speech to its annual conference in Bournemouth was greeted with stony silence.

She announced she was making immediate changes to the Federation.

Mrs May told officers that £320,000 of government funding for the salaries and expenses of its top three officials was being stopped because the organisation was “sitting on vast reserves of cash”.

The money will instead be spent on a new scheme called Police First, aimed at attracting university graduates, she said.

In the speech, Mrs May urged delegates to adopt all the changes recommended by former Home Office mandarin Sir David Normington.

And she shocked the delegates by demanding that unless the organisation implements a raft of reforms, she would use legislation to restructure it.

Mrs May called for its branches to open up their finances for inspection.

She said: “I do not want to have to impose change on you.

"But make no mistake.

If you do not change of your own accord, we will impose change on you

Theresa May

"If you do not make significant progress towards the implementation of the Normington reforms, if the Federation does not start to turn itself around, you must not be under the impression that the Government will let things remain as they are.

“The Federation was created by an Act of Parliament and it can be reformed by an Act of Parliament.

“If you do not change of your own accord, we will impose change on you.”

Mrs May could face challenges from Federation members under human rights legislation if she does try to impose new laws on them, legal experts have said.

Referring to a series of scandals which have rocked the police, including “Plebgate” and the Hillsborough disaster, the Home Secretary said it was “not enough to mouth platitudes about a few bad apples”.

She also said that she would change the law so officers would have to opt in to the Federation instead of being signed up automatically to it. Similar changes will affect their subscription payments.

The hard-hitting speech comes at the most turbulent period in the organisation’s 95-year history.

The Police Federation – which represents about 125,000 rank and file officers – is thought to have reserves of around £70million held by the national organisation and its regional branches.

But its senior officials have been accused of profligate spending.

It is subject to allegations of widespread bullying and intimidation among its leadership and it was criticised for the way it handled the Plebgate affair, which led to the resignation of former Government chief whip Andrew Mitchell.

After hearing Mrs May’s speech, the Federation’s chairman Steve Williams, who will leave his post after the conference, said he would have to “reflect” on the implications of the changes to membership rules.